Notching device for lasting boots or shoes



(No Model.)

G. W. CARTER. NOTQHING DBV'IGB FO'R'LASTING BOOTSOR SHOES.

N0. 591,999. Patented Oct. 19,1897.

E S ATES PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE W. CARTER, OF I-IAVERIIILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONSOLIDATED AND MOKAY LASTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PORT- LAND, MAINE. 1

NOTCHING DEVICE' FOR LASTING BOOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 591,999, dated October 19, 1897. Application filed August 3,1896. SerialNo. 601,421. on model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. CARTER, of Haverhill,.county of Essex, State of Massachusett-s, have invented an Improvement in Notching Devices forLasting Boots or Shoes,

IS narrowness of the toe of the last, and in do.

ing this the edge of the upper is gathered or plaited over upon itself and tacked, and thereafter the material of the upper so gathered together has to be cut away to a level surface to enable the outer sole to lie there on properly. In this work it has been cus tomary when lasting by hand to cut slits witha knife'in the upper, so that one part of the edge maybe lapped over another part. I have devised a device composed of two members, one having a tapering jaw to be placed next the inner side of the toe of the upper, and the other a V-shaped cuttingblade to be placed against the outer side of 0 the upper, the closing of the cutter on the upper causing the jaw to enter the V-shaped space of the cutter, and at the same time remove from the upper a piece of the material corresponding in shape with the jaw. Removing this piece of the upper shortens its effective edge and enables the upper to be laid smoothly on the inner sole back of the toe of the last in the lasting operation.

Figure 1, in side elevation, represents a 0 notching device embodying my invention and part of the toe of a last with the toe of an upper and part of an inner sole. Fig. 2 is an underside View of the notching device. Fig. 3 shows the Vshaped cutter detached, 5 and Fig. 4 shows the upper tacked as it may be after being acted upon by the notchin g device.

The last A, the upper a, and the inner sole a are and may be of any usual shape or material.

My novel notching device is composed of 'two members or levers Z) c, pivoted together at d, the longer arms of said members being normally kept open by a suitable spring e.

The short end of the member '0 is'shaped to present a tapering or pointed jaw '0, while the member or lever b has attached to its short end; in any suitable manner, as by screws 19, a V-shaped blade or cutter b the cutting edge of which is so shaped or beveled as to cut with a sheancut,-the cut commencing nearest the pivot d and working outwardly to the apex .of the cutter. 1

In lasting'by hand't is customary to put an inner sole on thebottom of the'last, and then put an upper over the last, and with pincers pull the central part of the toe of the upper over the toe of the last onto the inner sole, and drive a tack to hold the upper in place, and thereafter a part of the upper at a distance from the toe at eachside is also stretched, pulled over, and tacked, and then the further gathering in and stretching and tacking of the upper about the more or less curved toe of the last is effected. To do this in accordance with my invention, the narrow tapering jaw cis placed on the inner sole with its point directed under the somewhat overlapping loose edge of the upper, and the V-shaped cutter is then made to descend on the'outer side of the edge of the toe of the upper, and as it approaches the tapering jaw the cutter begins to work with a shear out, and cuts out and removes from'the said edge ,a V-shaped piece, the said piece being of greater or less width at its widest portion according to the curvature of the toe of the last, and the edge of the said notch'is laid against the opposite edge and is tacked in place. These notches are made one. after another, and they may be more or less in number according to the shape of the toe, and when the lasting of the toe is finished it will present the appearance substantially as shown in Fig. 4..

By making the jaw c of a taper shape at its side next the cutter, and rounding or beveling it at its opposite side, I am enabled to produce a narrow-pointed jaw which may be put under the overlapping edge of the up per close to a tack holding a part of said edge in place, and cut from the said edge, at that point, a piece of the material of which the upper is composed.

I am aware that the toe of an upper has been cut out or notched at regular intervals preparatory to lasting the upper on a machine, but with my notching device the V-shaped piece may be removed from the edge of the upper at just the point where it is most needed, to enable the toe of the upper to be drawn and fitted closely and smoothly about the toe of the last being used, and in this way my device is adapted to cooperate with lasts of any and all shapes, and it is especially serviceable with the present style of pointed-teed lasts.

The adjustable screw f determines the distance that the V-shaped cutting edge shall descend outside the edges of the jaw c.

In lasting a shoe with my improved device the material at and about the edge of the toe of the upper is removed only after the upper has been drawn and stretched over the toe and fastened, and the material is removed a little at a time after each stretching of the upper, so that just the proper amount of material is removed, and the cut extends into the upper from its edge to just the proper distance, and it is obvious to those familiar with lasting that this cut will at times extend more or less into the upper according to the amount 1 of stretch in the upper at that point, the upper extending more or less over the last. Owing to this variation in stretch of the upper I could not practically cut the notches in the edge of the upper before the same was stretched about or over the toe of the last.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The herein-described notching device for lasting boots and shoes, said device comprising two cooperating jaws shaped to remove a notch from the shoe-upper,one of said jaws being thinned toward its outer end to enable the notch cut by said jaws to be carried close down to the apex of the converging space between the upper and the inner sole and close to an adjacent fastening to thereby enable said upper to be closely and smoothly lasted about a pointed toe of a last, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described notching device for lasting boots and shoes, said device comprising an upper cutter having vertical cutting edges of V shape in outline, and an under tapered jaw to fit snugly within said vertical edges, the latter moving past said tapered jaw in the cutting operation, said jaw having a thin slender body converging to a pointed end, whereby said jaw may be entered under the pulled-over upper immediately adjacent a tack and a cut thereby made in the upper close to the tack without disturbin g the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE IV. CARTER.

\Vitnesses:

Gno. W. GREGORY, MARGARET A. DUNN. 

